A woman was killed by three pit bulls with a history of aggression in Portsmouth, Virginia.
Pit Bulls Kill Woman
Portsmouth, VA - A woman is dead after being mauled by three pit bulls in the middle of the night, police said. Portsmouth police responded to a residence in the 1800 block of Atlanta Avenue just after 1:30 am Friday. Arriving officers found the woman with life-threatening injuries. She was transported to a hospital, where she died. All three pit bulls were taken into custody, Portsmouth Police Chief Stephen Jenkins said. The investigation is ongoing, but no other details are available at this time, Jenkins said.
“It is still early in the investigation. Obviously animal control and my detectives are looking into the facts and circ*mstances surrounding it." - Portsmouth Police Chief Stephen Jenkins
WAVY reporter Brian Reese, spoke to neighbor Lawrence Davis, who confirmed the attack occurred at 1815 Atlanta Avenue. Davis said the woman was visiting the home at the time. The dog owner is a man, but Davis did not know his name. WVEC-TV spoke to neighbors who said the dogs have been involved in at least three prior acts of aggression recently, including biting a man and aggressively chasing children on bicycles. Police have not identified the owner of the dogs or the mauling victim.
Chief Jenkins later confirmed the previous attacks to WVEC-TV and suggested the victim had been trespassing. "It has come to light that Portsmouth Animal Patrol officers had indeed responded on three prior occasions over the last 12 months with one being for a bite injury," Jenkins said. The dogs were secure when the attack occurred, he said. "We urge residents to refrain from trespassing or attempting to interact with animals without explicit permission from their owners," Jenkins said.
Mauling Victim Identified
Neighbors and an eyewitness identified the victim as Cindy White, who is known by people who live in the home. According to the eyewitness, White walked into the home and moved the "bar and speaker" that were positioned to "barricade" the dogs in the back room. Then White went into the back room, where she was viciously attacked by the dogs. A woman who lives a block over could hear White's screams, WAVY reports. Apparently, White had been trying to visit a man who lives in the back room.
After hearing White's screams, some associates of hers came over to the house, neighbors said, and attacked the man who was sleeping in the back room. “Some people jumped on the person who lives in the house,” Davis explained. “They blame him, and they beat him up ... He was taken to the hospital ... and I don’t know the status.” WAVY shot drone video from above the house and captured images inside the home too. A person who lives in the home, shot pictures from a reporter's cell phone.
White had multiple Facebook pages. Friends and family members tagged her most recent one after learning about her death. One of her older Facebook pages appears to show her in the backyard of the home at 1815 Atlanta Avenue. On April 13, White's sister, Tamika, hosted a balloon release for White using white and gold balloon colors. White turned 50-years old on October 28, 2022, making her 51-years old at the time of her death. Portsmouth police did not release White's age or her name.
Covid Fatality in Portsmouth
Back in March of 2020, just as the Covid crisis erupted, Demi Witherspoon, 2-years old, was killed by a family pit bull in Portsmouth. That attack occurred in the 5600 block of Darby Close, about 15 miles to the northwest of this location. At that time, we reported that the dispatcher for Portsmouth Police and Fire stated in the audio log files on Broadcastify.com: "We have a pit bull who just bit the complainant's daughter's face completely off." There were no relevant audio dispatch log files for the recent attack.
Home on Atlanta Avenue where three pit bulls with a history of aggression killed Cindy White.
WAVY footage shows the "barricaded" entrance to the back room with a "bar and speaker."
View the DogsBite.org Google Map: Virginia Fatal Pit Bull Maulings.
Related articles:
11/10/22: 2022 Dog Bite Fatality: Church Leader Dies After Being Mauled by Pit Bull in Richmond
01/20/22: 2022 Dog Bite Fatality: Rottweiler Kills 7-Year Old Girl, Injures Adult Female in Waynesboro
Baseline reporting requirements:
Law enforcement departments across the United States should release consistent "baseline" information to the media and the public after each fatal dog mauling, including these items.
